Now, after a run of four straight ties on hard court in Canada, team captain Martin Laurendeau gets to see how good his team is at dirt balling on the road.

The Serbian Tennis Federation announced Monday that the World Group semi-final tie against Canada, scheduled for Sept. 13-15, will be played indoors, at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade. Serbia has chosen a temporary clay court surface in an attempt to neutralize Canadian power server Milos Raonic but also because of the historical significance of the venue.

Serbia defeated France 3-2 in the final of the 2010 Davis Cup in the same arena, only that time on hard court.

“We’re now in a situation where we have to go on the road and play in their environment and in conditions that favour them,” Laurendeau said. “That’s the nature of Davis Cup. The fans will really be a force to be reckoned with.”

Kombank Arena, one of the largest basketball venues in the world, with Euroleague games attracting more than 22,000, will be re-configured to seat 15,500 for tennis. It guarantees a sizable audience, and one that will be as loud, passionate and inspiring (for the home team) as anything a Canadian Davis Cup team has experienced before.

“Yeah, I know we’re all excited about that,” Laurendeau explained. “It’s fantastic. It’s what the guys train and live for, those moments and opportunities to play an important match in a big arena for the Davis Cup. It will be a challenge. But, if you ask any player, he would rather play in an environment like that than in front of nobody. It makes for great excitement.”

Canada has played three of its past four ties at the University of B.C.’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, against France, Spain and Italy, on Premier hard court specifically tailored to the strengths of Raonic, Canada’s best singles player.

Hard court favours power servers like Raonic and usually results in short, quick rallies. Clay, the predominant surface in Europe, rewards the indefatigable retriever who can outsmart, outwork and simply outlast an opponent. Few are better at it than Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1 from Serbia who ended Rafael Nadal’s 46-match winning streak at the Monte Carlo Open two weeks ago.

A six-time Grand Slam champion, Djokovic has won three of the four majors, the sole exception being the one played on clay -- the French Open. After his takedown of Nadal, who has won every French Open, except one, since 2005, it’s well within the Serb’s reach to complete his personal slam this year.

Despite the stacked deck facing Canada, Laurendeau points out that Raonic is learning how to better construct a point on clay, rather than blasting away, at the Barcelona academy run by his personal coach, Galo Blanco, a former Spanish touring pro.

Canada’s most experienced doubles player, Daniel Nestor, is also an eight-time Grand Slam champion, having won four of those titles at the French Open.

Identifying clay court training as essential for up-and-coming ATP and WTA players, Tennis Canada opened an indoor clay court facility at the National Tennis Centre in Montreal two years ago. The project contributed to the recent success of Canada’s Federation Cup team -- the female equivalent of the Davis Cup -- which defeated Ukraine 3-2 in Kiev on clay earlier this month.

It was the first tie won in Europe by the Canadian Fed Cup team since 1995 and moved Canada back to the second level (World Group II) of competition in 2014.

Canada’s Fed Cup team has played 11 consecutive ties on the road -- eight of those in South America -- primarily in Americas Zone Group play.

In terms of anywhere in the world he would want to play, Laurendeau suggested Serbia might be less daunting in one interesting respect. Raonic, Nestor and singles player Frank Dancevic all have roots in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Raonic was born in Montenegro, Nestor in Belgrade and Dancevic’s parents are Croatian.

“They’re actually looking forward to playing there, seeing family, friends and relatives,” Laurendeau said. “They’re not feeling so out of place, as they would be in Central or South America. So, in a way, it’s not all that bad to end up there. But, heritage or not, the heat of the battle, and in front of those Serbian fans, they know they’re going to be put through an ordeal.”

Canada, which has reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals for the first time, has no history against Serbia in Davis Cup competition.

The Czech Republic and Argentina play in the other semi-final, scheduled for the O2 Arena in Prague. The two countries have met five times before, with the Czechs holding a 4-1 edge.

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